The Stand - What I'm Reading

So, I’ve been sick with the flu for the last week and a half. I took 3 days off from work last week, was sick all weekend and tried to go to work this week. Monday I made it. Tuesday I was sick again. Wednesday I made it. Thursday I’m home sick again. I think tomorrow will be okay to be at work. If I have a coughing fit (which is what plagues me most these days) I can just go into the conference room and cough my brains out for awhile until it is over. Hopefully, by tomorrow I won’t be having them anymore.

Anyway, I’m on the mend. It’s been a tough flu. My temp got up to 103.8 when I visited the doctor last week. Not swine flu, but enough of a flu to lay me low. My diabetes numbers have all been real high. On a brighter note, I lost 6 pounds which hasn’t come back on yet, so maybe will stay off. Haven’t been this low since I quit smoking more than 8 years ago.

Anyway, early on in the course of this sickness with all the H1N1 news going on in the world I decided it would be appropriate to re-read, “The Stand” by Stephen King. This was the first King book I ever read and the one that got me hooked on him as a writer. I’ve read it at least 3 times. This version is paperback and was updated somewhat. Also, there are parts that were cut, but I’m still enjoying it.

So, I’m about half way through. Frannie has a bunch of excerpts from the diary she is keeping as she, Harold, Stu and Glen Bateman make their way first to Vermont and now on to Nebraska. They’d met up with 2 people, both dead now, so their group swelled briefly is now back to their smaller size of 4. To bring you up to speed, Glen is a sociologist who absolutely cannot help himself but to ponder the existence of mankind after the Superflu (Captain Trips) hit. The Army had developed this horrible flu. There was an accident and it got loose and in the space of a month’s time it killed most everybody in the world.

Harold is younger than Frannie and they knew each other before. Frannie is pregnant, though nobody knows about it and Harold pretends that he is in love with her, that he is the smartest in the group, that he should be leader and he is an absolute butt. Frannie feels obligated to take care of Harold because he is the younger brother of her now deceased best friend. Stu was almost at ground zero when he and his town were exposed to the people who had escaped the accidental release of the flu. The army moved in to quarantine everybody and became extremely interested in Stu Redmond when he did not develop the flu. He escaped their clutches. These are the survivors.

Anyway, I want to wrap this up and get to the point of what I wanted to say. Had to take 20 minutes out for a horrible coughing fit and I don’t think it’s quite done yet.

In Frannie’s diary she’d been recounting a discussion they’d been having about the dreams they all seemed to be sharing, especially of the guy they’d started to refer to as, “The Dark Man”. Purely evil and out to stalk all of them. On the other hand was Mother Abigail who is 108 years old living in Nebraska who represented what was good in the world. Some were being drawn to The Walking Dude and others drawn to Mother Abigail. But, the discussion they were having was how odd it was that they were all having the same sort of dreams. Glen, the sociologist said, “Whenever something overtly paranormal occurs the only explanation that really fits well and holds its interior logic is the theological one. That’s why psychics and religion have always gone hand in hand, right up to your modern-day faith-healers.”

Now, remember, I’m a psychic channel. That’s key to what’s really funny here. Because just as I read that part one of the guides said to me, “Well, who are you going to talk to in the dead of night?” Maybe it’s just me, but I thought it was funny.

Finding Your Soul in the Spirituality Maze

Inevitably, it happens that you will come across a book that has the ability to change your life.

“Finding Your Soul in the Spirituality Maze” by Thayer White is one of those books.

Thayer, who I have had the honor of calling friend for close to 15 years, is a psychotherapist and a pioneer in the field of New Age spirituality. If you are to invest time, money and attention in each and every one of the New Age schools of thought that have sprung up and continue to spring up you would be, quite understandably, confused and feeling lost in this maze. Thayer has zeroed in on a path that can help you make intelligent decisions about where to invest your attention to the maximum benefit in the development of your own spirituality.

ASHEVILLE NC, August 4, 2008. “The Law of Attraction usually fails folks,” claims New Age author and therapist, Thayer White, in his new book, Finding Your Soul in the Spirituality Maze. “If the Law worked at all well, every city block in Europe and North America would have a few new millionaires by now. There would be Law of Attraction support clinics everywhere curing high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and genetic disorders. The obese would be shrinking.” Available with book purchase is a free bonus audio of Thayer describing why the Law of Attraction usually fails folks. Find out more about the book and special free bonuses.

There is a school of thought that states if you don’t learn a lesson completely in this lifetime you can always spend time with it in your next lifetime. In some instances a person might be inclined to make more inroads and progress on whatever difficult life-lesson they’ve got facing them this time around rather than be faced with more of the same in their next incarnation.

But, the quest for your own spirituality is one of those life-lessons that happens to each and every person in every one of their lifetimes. This is one of the most important lessons and the more progress you make with it the richer your life might be in every one of your incarnations. This is an investment you can make for yourself that has dividends that will continue to pay off, life after life after life.

Here is an excerpt from, "Finding Your Soul in the Spiritualizy Maze - The Path of Non-Attachment"

The pattern of fewer and fewer attachments I call the path of non-attachment. This happens to a more-or-less degree with old souls, with those who are getting old physically, with those who find enlightenment and with those pursuing deeper psychological paths. Folks on the path of non-attachment are moving beyond many of the cyclic patterns, finding themselves dropping many attachments and not replacing them.

It is useful to understand the naturalness of this process. If you are aware of an attachment, it does no good to try to drop it. If you learn the lesson(s) involved with that attachment, then it will drop of its own accord with no effort on your part. What can be beneficial is to become aware of the attachment, to look for the lesson(s) involved and to try to learn the lesson(s). If this is an old pattern of attachment for you, then it may help to ask yourself if you really need that attachment.

For example, assume that your car history has been jalopy, subcompact, mid-size and Cadillac. It may be helpful to ask yourself if you really want the Ferrari about which you have been fantasizing. If there is importance or excitement associated with the Ferrari, then you still are attached and may need to get it. If you are able to eliminate the importance and the excitement by self-change or therapy, then you will have no desire for a Ferrari.”

Visit Thayer White's website at http://www.thayerwhite.com/ for more information.

"Duma Key" by Stephen King

It’s funny, but the best teachers you get in life probably aren’t even aware that they’re helping you out. Or, maybe that old saying really is true that when the student is ready the teacher will appear. Except, maybe the teacher is totally unaware of what they’re doing.

Case in point: I just finished reading Stephen King’s new book, “Duma Key". But, already something is happening. For instance, in the book our hero, Edgar Freemantal, was once upon a time a very successful building contractor and is now a sad and mangled man. He caught the roughside of a large piece of construction machinery with no back up meep meeps going on to warn him that it was coming his way. Mashed him up pretty bad. Sort of rewired his head too. But, now his missing right arm itches like the dickens at times. Sometimes it burns. A hint of what the phantom limb experience might be that we’ve all heard about before. Except, here starts the Stephen King magic and where the best lies, loosely couched in truth, are my own personal lessons on how to be a better psychic.

What first thrilled me to see was the bit about how in the beginning of the burning, itching of the missing limb what relieved it was a stint at drawing and painting. Our hero comes away from these artistic rushes of madness absolutely ravenous. Same thing happened to me early on in my channeling days after a session. You couldn’t stop me I was that hungry. Now, I realize it was my own eating disorder rearing its head and providing me with a bit of comfort after a particularly strenuous and stressful experience. I remember hearing of other channels who spoke of this odd phenomena and routinely advised others who were channeling to have a glass of orange juice after a channeling session. There were also those who tried to explain away their own obese bodies on the same thing. I am not buying into any of that, but do remember there were times when I felt that ravenous hunger. Did I think it was a result of having the intense psychic energies flowing through my, as yet not accustomed to psychic energy body? Well, I did in the beginning, but I don’t now. Could have been any sort of new to me energy that would result in the ravenous raids on whatever wasn’t tied down in the kitchen. However, King picked up on it and I stand here pretty impressed that he did. It was just a small thing, but it was truth. I've just written a review of the book on my book blog.

I’m a fan of Stephen King, though I didn’t come to be until I was an adult. Up until then I had shied away from anything Stephen King had written or shown upon the silver screen. King? No way Jose. What happened so many years ago was I read, “The Stand”. Within the year I’d read mostly every novel he’d written up to that point. I’d also become psychic. I tell people I over-dosed on Stephen King books. But, that nice and tidy side effect aside, the man can write. I stand in awe of how he is able to reach out, grasp the points I would have normally missed, tossed it all around and come up with a good book.

He did it again.

"Wild Orchids" by Jude Deveraux

For the last year or so I’ve been writing reviews about the books I’ve been reading. I just started a new one about an hour ago. Normally, I wouldn’t write about the book until after I was finished and would proceed onto the review, except, this is a good one. I have this gauge I use for books. If I cry a lot it’s a good book. I call them three hanky tearjerkers. And, if a book rates as a three hanky tearjerker I really, really liked it.

I’m on page 29. I think I started crying about page 5. It’s an on again, off again sort of crying, but I have to tell you, this is one really good book. “Wild Orchids” by Jude Deveraux. I don’t even have to wait for the end to recommend it. If you don’t have anything better to do go on down to the library and check it out. And, if you can’t find that particular one anything by Jude Deveraux will do. She’s written a bunch of them and I’m betting that her other stories are just as good as this one.

Post Note: I finished the book. It's fabulous. I wrote the review at my other blog.

What I'm Reading

I’m reading a new book. It’s called, “Seven Up” by Janet Evanovich. When I’m done with it (probably by tomorrow evening) I’ll be writing up a book review and posting it on my other blog. For tonight though, I’m laughing my ass off. I had the thought earlier in the evening that this book could probably be rated R or maybe even X. No, probably an R. And, I got it in the library! How about that? Anyway, for anybody who has never read a Stephanie Plum Bounty Hunter story, this is the 7th one. Janet Evanovich numbers each of her novels and I believe that the 13th one was recently released.

Stephanie is like Lucy Ricardo on steroids. It is absolutely hilarious. And, the R part is the sex. The stories all take place in New Jersey. Stephanie works for her slime ball cousin Vincent and goes out looking for folks who’ve missed their court dates. Bringing them in is Stephanie’s job. She’s in love with Joe Morelli, a Trenton cop and also has the hots for Ranger, a fellow bounty hunter. Both guys end up helping her out of jams left and right. Stephanie gets help from Lula, a former ho turned file clerk in Vinney’s office. She wants to be a bounty hunter and helps Stephanie out on a lot of the cases. She also weighs more than I do. Stehanie’s family joins in and is also as hilarious as she is. I wonder if it is the water they drink? Her Grandma Mazur is a hoot, a hot old lady who is a terrible embarrassment to her daughter, Stephenie’s mother. Hell, if she was my grandmother she’d be an embarrassment to us too.

Even the bad guys are endearing. I know I am going to be guaranteed a laugh when I read a Stephanie Plum novel. And, the best part? Even though she screws up left and right (not entirely her fault) she does win in the end. Anyway, that’s what I’m doing tonight.

Where I Read Books

I write in another blog – Where I Read Books. Obviously, the talk is about books. I am a voracious reader. That started when I was a little girl and finished off the text to a social studies class we had just started over the first weekend of the school year. The teacher was ticked off at me.

I have the day off today from work, a special treat, and last night geared up for the longer weekend by tearing off to the library after work. I have to say every time I go there that branch is packed to the gills with people. The attraction, I think, is a gathering place for young people. They tend to make more noise than I think is warranted for a library, but the trade-off is that the library is getting business and maybe some of the love of books and reading will rub off on them. It’s certainly better than hanging out on the corner.

But, last night the picking of books came to me easily. I walked out with 5 of them. The one I started first, it being a “Hot Pick” which means I only get it for 1 week’s time is, “The River Knows” by Amanda Quick. She’s one of my most favorite writers. This one is an historical mystery. Then, I got, “Francesca's Kitchen”, by Peter Pezzelli; “Seven Up”, by Janet Evonovich; “The Devil Who Tamed Her”, by Johanna Lindsey and “High Noon” by Nora Roberts. Yum.

Reading

What makes you happy? When I was younger I would really look forward to an evening spent in a neighborhood bar. As I got older and especially when I stopped drinking that particular delight faded away. Nowadays, I think the one thing I enjoy most of all is reading. I’ve got a collection of favorite books that I will reach for and read again and again. This, too, is different than when I was younger. In those days I would read a book once and that was an end to it: I had read the book. Nowadays, I get an urge that comes over me to snag one of my favorites off of the shelf and read it.

I’ve even got a set of books, The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon, where I will sometimes grab one at random and read just enough until I am satisfied. Not even the whole book and not even from the first in the series. Sometimes not even from the beginning of the book. I’ll start reading from wherever the book opens for me. Just dipping in and out again.

I think that’s sort of interesting. Something else that has happened, though, with my reading habits as I’ve gotten older. The books I read before and I begin reading again? Sometimes I can’t remember what’s going to happen, so, in a sense it’s sort of like reading the book for the first time.

I’m going to dip back into the last Harry Potter book. There’s enough time before I need to get ready for work that I can get a bit more read. The way I’ve been going with it I think I’ll have it finished tonight. Good book. I’m sorry to see it be the last one. Of course, I can always start reading them from the beginning again.

What I'm Reading

Usually I don’t make too many comments about a book that I’m reading until I’m done with it and will pen my review for my I Read Books Blog. However, I’m making an exception for, "Lisey's Story"by Stephen King. Yummy. Under the Yum Yum tree.

This is exactly what I would expect to see from Stephen King. It’s not like it’s the same old, same old story I’ve heard before, but more that I expect to see primo, 100% quality writing and a look into his own writing, his own life at the same time. They say that stories, in the beginning of a writer’s career are mainly autobiographical implying as you age into your writing life you’re not going to be drawing upon your own life at the same time, but I think that’s a crock.

I can imagine how after his own bout with being flung almost 20 feet into the air by a distracted (is saying it really diplomatically) driver and the ensuing fight for his life how that experience is now translated into, “Lisey’s Story”. I can see how much of what happens with Lisey could very well be what Stephen’s own wife Tabitha must have experienced during that time. I’ve read what Stephen King said in, “On Writing” to know that going to the pool to drink, where Scott Landon, Lisey’s husband comes up with his stories is so eerily similar to what King himself describes as going out into the desert to excavate for the stories that he writes. So, I can see what I feel are the personal touches in a story. Sort of a joke, a gem for people to find. Sort of like when Stephen King does a movie and makes one of those little cameo appearances in the beginning, much like Alfred Hitchock used to do in his movies.

The other thing I expect to see from Stephen King is the really fast parts of horror. I don’t like them. I sometimes have to stop when I get to those parts, but I pick up and push through them doggedly, knowing the good guys are going to be brave and that I will not be disappointed. I know that the end will be good, that the bad guys will fail and the good guys will win. That’s just how his books always go. I know that the good guys will get help to get them out of the horror, so I push on with that hope in sight.

I’m almost done with this book…maybe another three quarters of an inch left to go. Maybe later on today or tomorrow I’ll be writing my review. But, I just had to say something before that. This is the writer who spurred me on both as a psychic and as a writer. We have our heroes in life and one of mine is Stephen King.

“Lisey's Story” by Stephen King

I’m reading “Lisey's Story” by Stephen King right now. He’s one of my favorite writers. I bought it awhile back as an impulse purchase while I was in the checkout line at our local grocery store. Nora Roberts (also one of my favorite writers) wrote a glowing review about it and that really intrigued me. Anyway, I’ve just started it and as usual Stephen King is pushing my buttons. I was thinking something along these lines anyway the other day about how I don’t feel totally honest as I’m writing. It’s a really strange feeling, but it’s almost as if I’m not giving it 100%. I’m holding something back.

In “Lisey's Story” I’m sort of thinking that little bit I seem to be holding back on that other people hold back too. It feels like where you connect to the Cosmos and we just don’t talk about that all the time. It’s too weird. There are no words for it.

That’s what I love about stories by Stephen King. They make me think about things. And, if you’ve never read my stuff before I should say that if it weren’t for Stephen King I wouldn’t be channeling right now. It was me on overload with reading his books when I broke through into the psychic realms. I mean, maybe it might have happened some other way, but somehow I just don’t think so. So, should it surprise me that weird things are going on as I read, “Lisey’s Story” now? Anyway, it’s interesting. Once I’m done I’ll write a review to post on my other blog. For now, it’s what I’m doing today.

Reading Stephen King

Well, it’s been awhile, but I’m reading one of Stephen King’s books again. This is, “From A Buick 8” it reminds me a bit of another one he wrote and danged if I can’t remember the name of it. I want to say it was, “The Tommyknockers”, but that one is too old. It was a recent book of his where folks were in the woods and they all begin to be consumed from the inside by the Things from outer space sort of thing. Sorry I can’t be more specific, but the wonderful thing about his books with me is they all sort of slide in and bump up against each other in my memory. I think that might be because there are so many common threads that Stephen King explores. It’s like an artist who paints and goes through a period of time where all she wants to paint are flowers, or cats, or something like that. It’s a theme that you just can’t shake, where every time you write about it once it’s finished you think to yourself, “You know, I didn’t think about this aspect of it. I think I’ll explore that some too.”

I just love it.

You’d sort of think that some supposedly spiritually minded person wouldn’t be interested in the scary stuff Stephen King writes about, but I am. He’s just a terrific writer. And, I love how his characters both bad and good are really ordinary people. I credit him with me breaking through to the psychic side. Years ago it happened. Ssomewhere I’ve already written about it, but I’ll write about it again.

I’d just quit my job because I figured that now I was officially a writer because I’d just spent 3 years writing a book. It was done. So, I was a writer. My husband was doing well enough that we could afford for me to not be bringing in a steady paycheck and I really, really wanted to have the time to write full time seeing as how I was now a writer and I didn’t want to be a secretary anymore.

Right. Instant writer’s block.

As it happened, I took a year and a half off from work. Now, I'm back again at the same job. Interestingly, the lady they hired to replace me only lasted that long. She left and I went back to the same position. That was 15 years ago and I've been there ever since.

Anyway, back to my story: Then, I caught a cold. Seeing as how I didn’t have to drag my butt to work because I didn’t work anymore I indulged myself in the sick. And, I was sick. It was the worst cold I’ve ever had in my life. This was a doozy. I slept when I could and stayed up the rest of the time. That first week I watched television until I was numb. Already sick I didn’t have a lot of energy to spend doing anything productive. It ended up that I was sleeping a whole lot during the day and awake at night. And, having the television going at night wasn’t all that great because I felt I was disturbing my husband and the family who lived downstairs.

So, it occurred to me that I would really be interested in reading. And, what I wanted to read was Stephen King.

The reason why was that a few months before I quit work I’d taken a swing by the library after work on a Friday afternoon. The idea was that I wanted a really fat book to read over the weekend. I really didn’t care what it was. I just wanted a fat book I could curl up with. So, I was moseying around the new books section and saw a copy of, “ The Stand” by Stephen King. I pulled it off the shelf and had a look at the jacket. To this point in time I had never felt inclined to read anything Stephen King wrote. I was scared to death of this guy. I would change the channel when his movies came on. Nothing had the power to move me faster than the thought of anything Stephen King. It was like riding roller coasters: I just did not do it.

But, I’m holding the fattest book you can imagine in my hands and I’m falling for it like an old bucket tumbling down into a well. I checked it out and read that book in 3 days’ time. By Monday I was done and by Monday I was an official fan of Stephen King. By the way, “The Stand” is an enormous book. It took him 12 years to write. I’ve read it 5 or 6 times since then and will probably read it as many times more in the years to come.

So, anyway, here I am a few months later facing boredom beyond belief with this horrible summer cold still hanging on. I was so totally restless, uncomfortable and noisy in bed that my husband just couldn’t get any rest. Also, I didn’t want to make him sick too, so I sort of set up camp out in the living room for the duration of my cold.

Tired of watching television it occurred to me that I could go get some Stephen King books out of the library. We didn’t have a car in those days, or at least that I remember, because I hauled my sorry, sick butt onto a city bus and tried not to breathe on people. I checked out 35 pounds of Stephen King books and read them all in a week. Then, I went back to the library to turn those in and get more. Three trips I made to the library and I read a boat load of his books during the time that I was so sick.

I overdosed on Stephen King.

The first indication I had that something odd was going on was when I began seeing, “222” everywhere. When I looked at a clock it was at 2:22. When I happened to glance at the microwave it said, “2:22” for the time or for whatever was left to nuke. While I was reading a book I’d notice page 222 as it went by. Actually, that still happens to me. It got to be spooky. What was really spooky was when I told my sister about it and she called me the next day to say she’d just been in their bank’s parking lot and she happened to glance up at the time and temperature sign to see that said 2:22 as well. Like I said, spooky.

Then, I began knowing that the phone was going to ring. Then, I began knowing who was going to be on the phone when it rang. Then, I began having really vivid dreams and those morphed into visions that I had when I wasn’t quite asleep and not quite awake.

It scared the crap out of me.

That’s when I went looking for help. I found something Colin Wilson wrote, that I think was called, “ESP”, but may have been his book, “The Occult”. In it I remember reading that it was okay to have ESP and it wasn’t really such a big deal.

That’s when the shit hit the fan and I was okay with it.

I began reading other books investigating what was happening to me and I eventually, stumbled upon Sanaya Roman and Duane Parker’s ,"Opening to Channel" when I learned how to channel.

So, that’s why I credit Stephen King with me finally opening up to my psychic nature.

Stuff

I applied at PayPerPost for another of my blogs, Where The Psychic Vents. Unfortunately, I did not meet their criteria of having a minimum of 20 posts in 90 days. So, I’m busy making posts over there. Originally, I’d created the blog as a place where I could go kick the kitchen cabinets when I didn’t feel like acting civilized, but it’s sort of evolving into a blog where I am just really letting my hair down.

On another note, I’m reading a book called, “Blessings” by Anna Quindlen. I’m closing in on the end and I’ve got to say that this is going to rank up there with some of the better books I’ve read lately. When I’m finished I’ll do a review of the book at my other blog, Where I Read Books. Dang, but this is a terrific book.

2 New Blogs

I’ve started 2 new blogs. One of them is for beading and the other for reading. I haven’t done a whole lot with either of them, but all good things come to those who wait. Right? Anyway, http://where-i-read-books.blogspot.com is the one where I will review the books I am reading. So far I’ve reviewed two books. I’m reading a third as we speak, the second I’ve read by this particular author and though the story is moving slowly right now I still have hopes that I’m going to like the story once it’s over. The other blog, http://where-i-bead.blogspot.com has pretty much nothing in it other than the first entry which is nothing to speak of. But, this will also encourage me to get busy and work on my beading.

Anatomy of a Doll

My husband gave me a gift certificate to Amazon for Christmas. I haven’t used it yet. But, I spend a lot of time buzzing around Amazon to select things and put them into my basket. One of the books that caught my eye recently was, " Anatomy of a Doll ” by Susanna Oroyan. I had a flash, though, to go look for the book at my library first. Lo and behold, there it was. I put a hold on the book (I’m doing all of this via the Internet) and yesterday, figuring 4 days was long enough to have gotten it to my branch, stopped by on my way home from work.

Wow, but this is a wonderful book. I poured over it last night. Wonderful pictures of the most amazing dolls and simple directions to get there. Granted, the book is available from my library, but this is definitely a keeper. I’ll keep it in my basket at Amazon.

Carter Beats the Devil

I’m reading an absolutely terrific book. It’s, “Carter Beats the Devil” by Glen David Gold. I’m about half way through and it has absolutely gripped my imagination and attention. It is a fictionalized account of Charles Carter who was a magician in the early 20th century. He hails from San Francisco and there are references to places I know which are always neat. I haven’t yet gotten to the place where he’s going to beat the Devil or, in fact, have read anything about a Devil unless it had something to do with Mysterioso, an arch rival magician, who Carter vanquished with the help of Houdini. You can see more of his posters at http://www.magicgallery.com/Carter.htm

Our New Store

Not something I’d actually planned on doing, but I am pleased with what shook out as I created an on-line Amazon store for Talking to Spirit. So far, I’ve got it divied up into 3 sections. The first has to do with channeling, spiritual growth and head scratching and motivational stuff. The other sections are for 2 of my favorite writers, Diana Gabaldon and Jayne Ann Krentz. The only thing that sort of bugs me is I’ve never worked with an iframe before and this is 4000 whatzits long. Most of the time it just makes the page longer, but sometimes as you move into a more detailed description of the book it gets used up with reviews and comments. I made it scroll, but that was too confusing. What I’d like is for it to shrink and grow as necessary. I’ll have to keep looking for the solution to that one, but for now: We have an Amazon Store!

For the rest of the day I’m planning on easy things. Clean up some more in the study, do some ironing, make brownies and buy the fixings for dinner. We’re going to have our special dinner today rather than tomorrow because I’ve got to work half a day. I’d like to make schwine schnitzel, but if they don’t have boneless pork chops I’ll get some steaks, pound them out and make us country fried steak instead.